FORMER hurdles specialist Anthony Gill is aiming for the 2008 Olympics - as a cyclist.

The ex-athlete has turned to two wheels and made officials of the sport sit up and take notice when he took part in his first competition last week.

He picked to make his competition debut at the British National Track Championships held at the Manchester Velodrome.

Anthony, who coaches athletics and is a Sports Development Officer based at Keighley Leisure Centre, took on the best of British riders. He made his mark on the first day of the championship, taking sixth place in the Open 1000m Time Trial which was won by Olympic gold medalist Chris Hoy.

He followed up by taking part in the Mens Open Pursuit where riders approach the race slowly before attempting to take their rivals by surprise with a sprint to the line.

"I performed well in the early stages, but my inexperience took its toll and the guys with better tactics really hammered me," Anthony said.

But now he aims to get back riding, gain more track time and learn the tactics of the sport.

"There are the Commonwealth Games in Australia next year and the Olympic Games in China in 2008. There was certainly some interest from the British coaches, they wanted to know who this guy was that had come from nowhere," he said.

Now Anthony, who rides for the Fox Cycles team backed by former Keighley cyclists Danny and Nathan Fox, is determined to really make his mark on the sport.

n Anthony is pictured (right) racing at the British Championships.